Portcontrol7 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Hello all. My name is Aaron and my older brother Freddie was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and given a 10 month life expectancy. I don't know too much about the specifics yet, but the first I heard about it my sister told me they had found a lemon size tumor in his lung near his heart. Less than a week later we found out that it had spread to his spine, and not much later we heard about the 10 month life expectancy. Our family is emotionally devestated by this, obviously. I'd like to get more specifics on his condition and share them with the forum when I get them. Any advice from people with experience like this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and hope my introduction was in decorum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Hi, Aaron, and welcome. I'm sorry about your brother's diagnosis. It IS a very serious situation, but doctors cannot predict with any certainty how long someone may live. Is he undergoing treatment? Depending on the type of lung cancer and other factors, it may be treatable even if not curable. We have several long-term survivors here with advanced cancers. Once you're able to provide some more detailed info, people here with relevant knowledge and experience will be able to share that with you. Glad you found us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portcontrol7 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Thanks for the kind words LexieCat. I know he has finished his first round of chemotherapy and he is on a new drug called Tecentriq that can add 2 to 4 months to his average survival rate of 10 months. I am still waiting on more information and will provide it when I get it. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgetO Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Hi Aaron and welcome. I just wrote a post about survival statistics to somebody else yesterday. I'm writing the exact same thing to you: "Here's something to watch about statistics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH6XuiOBbkc Stephen Jay Gould survived cancer "contrary to statistics" and he talks about the limitation of statistics- they only give averages, not information about individuals. Another limitation of lung cancer stats specifically is that they are generally 5-year survival stats and so they are at least from people diagnosed 5 years ago and usually MUCH longer ago than that . And lung cancer treatement has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years. So don't get hung up on statsitcs and discouraged by them. " Let me also mention my father-in-law. He died recently at age 89. 20 years ago he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and "given" 6 months to live. He got into a clinical trial and it was a big success. So, as LexieCat said, your brother's situation is serious, but nobody knows how long he will live. An important thing is to appreciate every day of life! Bridget O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Hi Aaron, I'm sorry to hear about your brother's diagnosis. I echo what the others have said about survival statistics. There are many different treatment options available today that weren't available even a few years ago. And new options come available all of the time. There is hope. Your profile says you are from Washington, I am too. My mom (who is the cancer survivor) lives in Wenatchee. The clinic she goes to for treatment is a part of the Cancer Care Alliance. She is able to get top notch care in a small facility. That being said, if your brother is in WA too, there are lots of great options for treatment centers, even in small towns. Take Care, Steff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seventhson Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I lost two older brothers to cancer. One to lung cancer. It was an extremely difficult time . Mainly cause of navigation difficulties within the health care system. Now I have lung cancer. But luckily this site gives me tons of information to prepare me for the next step. As a cancer pt I worry about ageing parents and how this will effect them and my family. As the brother of someone with cancer I wanted to help make life easier for them. I felt helpless not be able to do something. Here you can ask anything, express anything and get support in your journey. Very sorry for your situation. A lot on this site have been there and will be a great help. There is a great deal of options for care and hope. How is your brother doing mobility wise. What are his signs and symptoms?. Look forward to chatting more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portcontrol7 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Thanks for the supportive posts folks. My brother isn't responding to my requests for info so I have to respect that. My sister is resigned to the fact that it's terminal and she mentioned that it has spread to his hip bone. She also says he's jokey about it. So I look forward to visiting him next month and I've decided to keep it light and fun because it would seem that would be in line with his attitude. I have to respect him as much as I want to help him fight it. Thank you and I appreciate the forum because I was really hurting when I found out and I'm grateful for the outlet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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